ST. LOUIS — Iowa State basketball senior Dominick Nelson heard all the tales, the bits of advice and motivational messages from his family, friends and coaches.
His brother, Shawn, also a Division I guard who plays for Northern Kentucky, was one he leaned on plenty this season. He understood the grind.
“Anything can happen, I’d say that was the biggest thing he told me,” Nelson said. “You never know what’s going on, and unfortunately one of our best players went down, but coach called my name and I had to just be prepared for it, and I felt like I was.”
Joshua Jefferson’s ankle injury, which came just minutes after the opening tip of the Cyclones’ 108-74 NCAA Tournament first-round rout of Tennessee State on March 20, shocked the Cyclones and their fans. His status is “unlikely” for Sunday’s second-round matchup with 7-seed Kentucky, coach T.J. Otzelberger said Saturday.
For Nelson, there was an added surprise as he was sent to check in early in the contest for his first share of meaningful minutes in months.
“I just had to get ready for it fast, honestly, I had no clue that I was going to go in that early,” Nelson said. “I just had to be ready, just get my head right, get a positive mindset and be ready for whatever comes.”
Against the Tigers, he logged nine points on 2-of-6 shooting, went 5-for-5 from the free-throw line, had two rebounds, an assist, one block and one steal through 19 minutes. It tied his season-high for playing time, with the Nov. 10 win over Mississippi State the only other time he had that many minutes in a game.
It was the first time Nelson played non-garbage time minutes since Jan. 17, when he had nine minutes in the 79-70 loss to Cincinnati.
Most seniors envision a glorious last hurrah or a great sendoff. No one dreams of riding the pine in their final season of college basketball.
There were certainly times that it wasn’t easy to cope with a role that was gradually reducing.
“Friends, family, just giving me that positive approach — it’d be easy to say forget this and just zone out,” Nelson said. “But, I mean, it’s a long season, anything can happen, so just being ready for anything that comes.”
Nelson made the climb from junior college to the Division I ranks for the first time last season, earning WAC Player of the Year honors at Utah Valley. He took the natural next step of his career and came to Iowa State to spend his final season at a power-conference level.
At first, he looked like a regular in the rotation. He played double-digit minutes in six of the Cyclones’ first seven games and provided a major spark in Iowa State’s first win over a power-conference opponent in a 96-80 win over Mississippi State.
As the season unfolded, though, the rotation shrank and so did his share of minutes.
He played in 15 of the first 18 games, with some of those DNPs stemming from an ankle injury. Before the Tennessee State game, he appeared in just six of the previous 16 contests heading into the NCAA Tournament for a combined total of 11 minutes.
“I think earlier in the year, when we cut to eight in the rotation, he’s shown tremendous character,” Otzelberger said. “He’s stayed ready for the moment and the opportunity, and I think when guys do that and that opportunity comes around, they’re going to be prepared.”
If there’s a player who knows the idea of staying ready, it’s teammate Cade Kelderman. The former walk-on turned scholarship player was thrust into a role in the rotation in the last few weeks of the 2024-25 season after injuries piled up for the Cyclones.
“(Nelson) puts the work in, he didn’t check out,” Kelderman said. “It can be hard to not do that, but he put the work in. He didn’t complain when he wasn’t getting those opportunities and stayed ready. He has a game like (Friday) where he hasn’t been in the rotation in however many games, but he goes out there and produces and we’re all super happy for him.”
With Jefferson unlikely to play against Kentucky, it’s possible that the Cyclones turn to Nelson once again for another solid share of rotational minutes.
The second-seeded Cyclones are set to tip off against the seventh-seeded Wildcats on Sunday, March 22 at 1:45 p.m. CT from the Enterprise Center. The game will be televised on CBS.
“I’ve never made it (to the NCAA Tournament), it’s a first-time experience,” Nelson said. “Definitely cool to experience all this and soak it all in. Obviously, we have a lot more to go, a lot of ways to go and make it far, but so far it’s been pretty cool.
“I just try to bring energy. I put the work in every single day. I just continue to keep my head down and work no matter what, for opportunities like this if they present themselves.”
Eugene Rapay covers Iowa State athletics for the Des Moines Register. Contact Eugene at erapay@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @erapay5.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Iowa State basketball reserve Dominick Nelson steps up after Joshua Jefferson injury
Reporting by Eugene Rapay, Des Moines Register / Des Moines Register
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